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Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar did a quick about-face on President Trump’s massive Venezuela oil deal Saturday — deleting a social media post blasting the pact before returning to declare it was “a great deal” for America and the Venezuelan people
Salazar, who has been outspoken of communist Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, took to X to declare that the pact would come to an end once President Trump’s term ends.
“Any oil “deal” with Venezuela’s interim regime has an expiration date: the day President Trump leaves the White House,” Salazar wrote on the site.
She later deleted the English and Spanish posts and returned about an hour later with a very different message.
“The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is a great deal for the United States and the Venezuelan people,” she wrote.
“For years, China took advantage of Venezuela’s weakness to buy its oil at deep discounts. Now America is stepping in, and American investment and influence offer Venezuela a path toward prosperity, stability, and security.”
But Salazar still took a swipe at Rodríguez, declaring: “Delcy is the wrong person to make this deal with.”
Her revised posts argued that the agreement should outlast Trump’s presidency — but could only do so if Venezuela holds free elections.
“We want this deal to last 100 years,” Salazar wrote. “Only an administration backed by strong democratic institutions and the rule of law can guarantee that. This will only be possible with free elections.”
Trump announced Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Rodríguez had negotiated an agreement giving private US companies access to what he described as “65 BILLION BARRELS” of proven Venezuelan oil reserves “at no cost to the American Taxpayer.”
The Venezuelan government said companies would be permitted to work on 17 oil fields, bringing an estimated $100 billion in investment to the country’s battered oil industry and more than $209 billion in tax revenue.
Salazar had initially expressed deep skepticism, warning that Rodríguez was merely “buying time.”
“The regime has stolen American investments before, and it will do again the moment it can,” she wrote in the deleted post.
Rodríguez has been Venezuela’s interim leader since January, when US Special Forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Salazar did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
English (US)